The Dance
by ArthurIsAwesome
Summary: A fan's take on the ball scene alluded to in the Volume 2 Trailer. Jaune and Pyrrha obviously need to work on their communication skills. Arkos, white rose. Original story is on my tumblr, jaunearcade.


**Disclaimer: I do not own, and do not claim to own, any elements, characters, or otherwise from the RWBY franchise. I also am aware that this situation will not very likely even be CLOSE to the canon dance episode(s), as I am purely writing this for my own enjoyment. Thank you.

Hey guys! I just really wanted to write an Arkos fanfic. This is basically my new OTP, and I'm really digging it! I had this idea in my head last night and it kept me awake for ages, so I decided to write it down. I couldn't decide whether to call it a "prom" or a "ball" since I've heard both being used, so I went with dance! It could be applied to either situation, and I hope it doesn't irritate anyone. And yeah, before anyone b*tches at me, I'm aware the canon won't be like this at all. I don't really care.

Rated like, T or something, Jaune curses a little bit and there are like… insinuations of adult themes… lots of insinuation (I had a smut scene in mind and was going to write it, but decided more of the fandom could enjoy this fic if there wasn't one, you dig? But if you want one, inbox me and express your interest and maybe I'll hook you guys up).

Arkos - White Rose - Kind Bumbleby but not really - Platonic Renora -

Jaune sighed, his shoulders drooping as he watched his partner vanish slowly up the staircase. The classical music behind him was loud and jubilant, but his heart only felt confusion and sorrow. This whole night was a mess, and somehow, Jaune couldn't help but feel responsible for Pyrrha's ruined evening. How had all of this happened?

"Heyyy teeeaaaaam RWBY! Guess what?"

"Ugh, here we go again."

"Weiss, be nice. What is it, Ruby?"

The young girl was bouncing where she stood at the end of the lunch table, where teams RWBY and JNPR were peacefully - or, HAD BEEN previously - eating lunch. With all of their attention on Ruby, she smiled before proudly presenting a poster, rolling it out to it's full length. On it, the paper was titled "Beacon Academy Annual Dance", with dates, times, and a picture of two black silhouettes dancing in elegant clothing.

"There's going to be a dance in three weeks! All students are allowed to attend, formal wear is required, and dates are optional! Isn't that sooo exciting? We all get to dress up and act fancy!"

Ruby's gushing joy spread to Nora immediately, who stood up and clapped excitedly.

"Oh I love dancing! One time, when Ren and I were younger, we took ballet together! It was hilarious, we had a huuuge recital and Ren was so embarrassed, he-"

"Ok, Nora, thank you," Lie Ren interjected quickly, a faint blush hinting at his cheeks. Nora smirked at him before giggling and going back to eating her meal.

Blake set her fork down and raised an eyebrow, muttering,"A dance sounds… kind of boring. I mean, dressing in uncomfortable clothing and twirling around with some boy all night doesn't sound like a good time to me."

Yang punched the black-haired girl on the arm with a laugh. "Come on, I haven't been on a date since I started attending Beacon. This could be a chance to meet some of these cute… older boys. We're bombshells! If someone asks you, you have to go! Heck, I'm going to go whether I'm asked or not! Dressing up could be fun."

Weiss, who had been sitting silent and judgmental for the duration of the conversation, quickly interjected,"I'm not sure. I think I agree with Blake on this one, to be honest. A bunch of riffraff like these people will probably just be… grinding on each other the whole time! And besides, there's no point in going without a date. You'd just be sitting around like a loser, watching everybody. And no boy here is worthy enough to take Weiss Schnee to a dance!"

Ruby pouted at her cold teammate,"But Weiss! What if we all went as a group? Team RWBY on the dancefloor! The poster says dates aren't required… So let's go as friends! It could still be fun! And it's a formal, classically-themed dance. Who grinds to Bach? And besides, don't you want to show off all your nice clothes?"

As Weiss began to consider the offer, Jaune smiled to himself. Finally! This was his big chance with Weiss! The beautiful heiress deserved a handsome date to hold on to for the dance, right? He could be her hero! Who doesn't want a piece of Jaune Arc, anyways?

"You know, Weiss," Jaune began, brushing his hair out of his eyes and smiling at her in the most endearing way he could muster,"you could always accept the lucky offer of being the one and only girl at Beacon Academy to attend the dance with Jaune Arc!"

While Jaune thought he was pretty smooth, Weiss stared at him a moment before beginning to laugh. It started out as a soft giggle, but grew into a shrill guffaw that caused her to stand up and walk away from the lunch table entirely. All eyes turned to Jaune to observe his reaction.

Casting his eyes down, he mumbled,"I guess that was a 'no', right?"

"Don't worry, Jaune," Pyrrha's soothing voice said to him in an apologetic tone, as she put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you will find a girl who would like to attend the dance with you! And if not, you could always go with -"

Cutting her off as he stood, Jaune sighed,"Thanks for the kind words, Pyrrha, but I don't want to hear it. I'll see you guys later." Then, he walked off, head down and shoulders hunched.

Ruby frowned after him. "Poor Jaune. He's just gotta realize Weiss doesn't like him. Laughing at him was… kind of rude, though. But I'm sure he'll get over it by the end of the day. Heck, I would go with him, if he asked, but only as friends, you know? But he probably only wants to go on a romantic date."

Yang and Blake nodded in silent agreement over Ruby's assessment. Blake then turned to Pyrrha and smirked,"I'm surprised he didn't ask you first, Pyrrha."

Blushing, the warrior's skin turned as red as her hair.

"Oh… Jaune wouldn't want to attend with me. We're just friends. We train together often, and so he probably views me as just 'one of the guys', rather than a potential date. And that's fine! Whatever makes Jaune happy will make me happy, too."

Then, Pyrrha stood and left the table, much of her lunch unfinished. Nora and Lie Ren exchanged peculiar glances at being left behind by their teammates. Yang raised an eyebrow at Blake.

"That's weird, right? I definitely was under the impression that… Jaune kinda had dibs on Pyrrha. The way they act together, you'd think they were a couple."

"Yeah," Blake replied quietly. "I think Jaune must be the most oblivious boy in the world. Why would he want to date Weiss over Pyrrha? They're both equally good-looking, equally skilled… And Pyrrha is a lot nicer. And straight. Well, probably straight. More straight than Weiss."

Yang, Ruby, and Lie Ren both jumped in mild alarm at the last part of Blake's sentence, while Nora carelessly began to eat the untouched food off of Pyrrha's plate.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked, eyebrows crinkling in confusion.

Smirking again, Blake stood and quipped,"Why don't you ask her yourself, Ruby? Ask her who she really wants to go to the dance with. I'm sure the answer will amuse you."

As the black-haired faunus strutted away, looking awfully pleased with herself, the group left at the table quietly disbanded to go to their respective classes.

The dance was a week away, and Jaune Arc did not have a date.

He first attempted to ask out some pretty girls in his grade, because the girls from the grades above him wouldn't even give him a passing glance. All the girls he finally gained the courage to ask said they either already had a date, or they weren't interested, which did nothing to help the blond's diminishing self-esteem.

Then, he approached Ruby about his situation in the hall outside their dorms one night. They sat down on the floor, and he confessed all his feelings of loser-ness to her, and she merely sympathetically patted his shoulder and told him to just go with friends.

"What about you, Ruby?" he had asked eagerly. "Do you have a date?"

Sheepishly, Ruby turned scarlet and replied that she did, but it was a secret who it was until the dance. Completely defeated, Jaune ventured to ask if Blake or Yang wanted a date, only to learn that they were going together. (It was Yang's idea - the bombshell duo would surely attract a lot of hot boys, and Blake went along with it for who-knows-why).

"Jaune?" Ruby finally asked once the boy had stopped wailing about how the world was surely working against him. "Why haven't you asked Pyrrha?"

Expression turning from sadness to shock, Jaune felt heat rushing to his face. "Pyrrha…? W-Why would I ask her? We're just friends!"

Raising her hands in mock surrender, Ruby laughed,"I never said you were anything more than friends! I just figured… Blake and Yang are partners, and they are going together. Lie Ren and Nora are partners, and they are going together - whether Ren wants to actually go or not - so… Is it so weird to think you should go with yours? She's a really nice person and she's helped you so much! It's obvious she really values your friendship, so why not ask her?"

Jaune's head sank so his chin was resting on his chest, and he folded his hands together in his lap quietly. After a long moment of silence, he heaved a sigh and meekly smiled to himself.

"Pyrrha would never go with me, Ruby. She's really strong, a-and smart! Plus, she's really pretty, and… She spends more alone time with me, while we're training, than anyone ever has in my life. So she knows that I'm a huge loser, who can still barely fight, and who is barely passing his classes. No one else really knows, so it would be easier to take someone who thinks I'm… well, a normally adjusted student. Besides…."

Tilting her head to the side, Ruby encouraged him to go on. "Besides…?"

Running his fingers through his hair, he grunted almost painfully,"She has a date! She's going with some guy named Yatsuhashi. He's on the same team as the girl with the bunny ears, Velvet, remember her? Well, Pyrrha and I were about to leave Professor Port's class, and just as I was about to ask her if she could help me study for the test on Wednesday, that big guy just walked over and asked her! And she said yes! She barely even knows the guy and she said yes. Why did she do that?"

Ruby wrapped her arm around Jaune's shoulders, frowning at him sympathetically. "Gee, I'm sorry Jaune. I guess you'll just have to fly solo. Going stag. Lone wolf. One-man show. Single - "

"Yeah, I get it. I'll just go alone. Will you at least let me hang out with you and your date? I don't want to bother Pyrrha… and I don't really want to try to chase Nora and Ren all over the dance floor."

Punching his arm in a very Yang-esque manner, Ruby replied happily,"Of course Jaune! I don't mind at all. I'll even save you a dance, if you want!"

Chuckling a little, Jaune softly said,"Thanks, Ruby. You're a good friend."

"I know!" she giggled in reply, before standing and making her way to her door. "Goodnight, Jaune. I'm sure things will work out eventually."

'Yeah, right', he thought miserably, before retreating into his dorm room to sleep.

This was it.

The night of the dance.

Team JNPR had been dressing up together in their room, yelling at each other for their fair share of time in the bathroom. Lie Ren and Jaune spiffed themselves up in their tuxes, both sharing Jaune's cologne that he had thought to bring at the beginning of the year, but hadn't worn before. Nora bounced in, wearing a pink dress with all sorts of frills and things that bounced when she twirled in a circle. Ren finally had to grab her arm to balance her, as she had been twirling since she came out of the bathroom.

Pyrrha emerged last, her head low and her eyes hooded. Her red dress was stunning, and flattered her immensely. Jaune couldn't help but find himself staring at her, and the way her hair swung against her shoulder blades, and how her dress hugged her body just right -

"Are we ready to head out?" Lie Ren asked, opening the door and leading Nora into the hall. Jaune and Pyrrha followed them quickly, and trailed them to the ballroom where the dance was to be held.

Turning shyly to Pyrrha, Jaune remarked,"You look great tonight. That's a… nice dress. Matches your…. hair…"

'Oh God, I'm a total loser' he thought, hiding his embarrassment by ducking his head and scratching the back of his neck.

Smiling at him a little, the beautiful redhead replied,"Thank you, Jaune. You look nice, as well. And your cologne smells very nice… Can I confess something to you? I'm actually quite a bit nervous about this evening."

"Why?" Jaune asked eagerly. "Because hey, if you want to bail, we could sit in the dorm and play card games instead."

Laughing, she shook her head and wistfully groaned,"I'm just worried that Yatsuhashi will not enjoy my company. He is a handsome boy. I'm happy he asked me. But it's true that we don't know each other very well…"

Blistering with jealousy, Jaune snapped,"At least you got a date! I'm the loser out of the group who got turned down by every single girl I asked! You have no reason to complain!" Angry and hurt, he quickened his pace to pass Ren and Nora, and enter the ballroom without looking back. Being around Pyrrha was only reminding himself of the failure he was, and all the things he could never achieve.

Immediately, he was overwhelmed. Essentially the entire school, even the staff, was in attendance. There was an orchestra playing classical music, obviously rotating from waltzes to jigs and other dances. There were large tables covered in water cups, and others with small cakes or vegetables with dip. The atmosphere was a little old-timey, but Jaune thought it fit the perfect "grand ball" stereotype. Before he knew it, someone was grabbing his arm and pulling him into the fray.

Team RWBY had picked their place on the dance floor, and were learning how to do certain dances from some older students, considering they skipped all the option dance lessons that Professor Goodwitch had been teaching leading up to the dance. Yang was clearly having trouble with the whole "foot of space" tradition (aka Leave Room for Jesus), as her hands wouldn't leave Blake's hips and her dancing was entirely too provocative for a formal dance.

Jaune then registered it was Ruby pulling him along, and she beamed up at him excitedly. Weiss was standing beside the overly-touchy couple beside her, her arms crossed and an irritated expression branded on her pale face.

"Ruby! It's considered rude to just leave your date like that! Honestly, where are your manners?"

'Oh', Jaune thought. 'That explains…. so very much.'

"Sorry, Weiss", Ruby apologized weakly, taking the taller girl's hand in hers and kissing the back of it briefly. "I just wanted Jaune to find us! I told him he could hang out with us tonight."

Weiss, in truth, was not pleased to hear that bit of information. However, she bit her tongue. After she had left the lunch table, laughing like a hyena at Jaune's proposal to attend the dance with her, Ruby had berated her poor manners, making the white-haired girl feel a bit guilty. Not desiring to be berated again, she forced a smile and choked out,"Great! The more the merrier."

Jaune sighed and slumped against the nearest wall, watching Team RWBY dancing. His eyes scanned the crowd, and he found himself both bored and upset. Going stag was the worst idea ever. 'Maybe I should have just stayed in my room', he thought angrily.

Just then, he caught sight of Pyrrha. She was walking in his direction! His heart began to race, before he realized she wasn't even looking at him. She veered off her path and began to ascend the staircase.

And so here we are, at the beginning again.

"Where is she going?" he asked himself, turning to look around the ballroom. Through all the dancing teens, he spotted Pyrrha's date….

With another girl?

It was so sudden, how Jaune's blood felt like molten lava coursing through his veins. He balled his hands into fists as he quickly began crossing the dance floor, pushing his way through twirling couples in a blind rage. Ruby called after him, but he didn't bother to listen. He could explain himself after he figured out what was happening.

"Hey!" Jaune snapped, and Yatsuhashi turned towards him, an older girl Jaune didn't know clinging to his arm.

"Uh… hey?" Yatsuhashi replied, giving Jaune a confused look. "Can I… help you or something?"

Before he knew what he was doing, Jaune reached out and grabbed Yatsuhashi by his shirt, tugging him closer. The girl immediately pulled away and stepped back, obvious fear and confusion in her eyes. Yatsuhashi, however, looked more irritated than afraid, considering he knew Jaune wasn't exactly the most…. threatening person in their grade.

"What the hell, man? Let me go!"

"No!" Jaune shouted. "What happened with you and Pyrrha? I thought you were her date!"

Sneering, Yatsuhashi shoved Jaune away from him, and spat,"What does it matter to you? I just told her I found a new date and didn't want her hanging around me. So what? She'll get over it."

Fury was overtaking the blond, and he whispered,"I'm going to beat the shit out of you."

Before he knew what was happening, he twitched and collapsed to his knees. What the heck?! Jaune was in pain, but he couldn't register why.

"I suggest you take your date and walk away, Yatsuhashi."

That voice… Ren?

Looking up, Jaune realized that Ren had seen what was happening, and intervened by hitting a pressure point in Jaune's neck. Irritated, Jaune stood and turned on his teammate, while Yatsuhashi and his date left the scene.

"What was that for?!"

Shaking his head, Ren sighed,"I didn't want you to get hurt. Or start a fight, for that matter. You would've gotten into a lot of trouble with Professor Goodwitch. What were you thinking?"

Hanging his head in shame, Jaune pouted at the floor. He knew Ren was right. Fighting would have only made things worse. But still…

"That guy was Pyrrha's date and he just bailed on her! She was so nervous about making sure he had a good time with her, and he just… Ditched her! For some older girl! And now, she's run off, and she's probably really upset!"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ren replied softly,"Then why don't you go find her, Jaune? She could probably really use a friend. You'd be better off cheering her up, than starting fights with people."

Nodding his head in agreement, Jaune silently stalked off to the stairs and ascended them.

"What was that all about, Ren~?" Nora asked, icing from the cakes on her face. She had been eating the entirety of the dance, and was finally satiated with cake.

Smiling at her, Ren just shook his head, procured a napkin from his pocket, and instructed her to clean her face.

"Pyrrha? Where are you?"

Jaune had been searching the upper floors of the academy for about 15 minutes, with no signs of Pyrrha. He peeped into every class, and knocked on the door of every women's bathroom. There was really no sign of her, but he knew she couldn't have returned to the dorm, because she never descended the staircase.

Feeling a little hopeless, the only place Jaune thought Pyrrha could possibly be was the roof.

'Oh man', he thought,'I hope she's not THAT depressed.'

Making his way to the door leading to the roof, he shoved it open, and it creaked loudly, announcing his presence.

Immediately, Pyrrha's eyes met his.

She was sitting on the edge of the roof, her legs tucked under herself. Her eyes were red and teary, but it was obvious she hadn't been bawling, but rather had been holding back her tears. Her dress puddled around her, and she had taken off her heels.

"J-Jaune! What are you doing here? You're missing the dance."

Jaune's chest ached, looking down at her while she was so defeated felt disturbing. For as long as he had known her, she had always been his rock, giving him support. She was the strong one in their friendship! And yet here she was, vulnerable and upset. He had never seen her even come close to crying before!

"Pyrrha… I'm sorry," Jaune began, hanging his head and walking towards her a little. "This whole night was a wreck, and it was my fault."

Confusion knitted her eyebrows, and she drew her arms around herself. It was a chilly night, and her dress lacked sleeves to warm her. "What are you talking about, Jaune? This night was not your fault. Yatsuhashi just decided not to waste the evening with a girl he doesn't care for. Can you blame him?"

Astonished, Jaune walked closer to her and knelt down in front of her.

"Of course I can blame him! Pyrrha, listen to yourself! You're acting like you're worthless or something. Pyrrha… The truth is, I wanted to ask you to the dance. I wanted to ask you even more than Weiss! But… I was scared you would turn me down. I don't want to ruin our friendship, because you're the closest friend I've got. And you deserve a way better date than me. But Pyrrha, I would have never ditched you for anybody else! You deserved a way better night than you got, and that isn't right."

Pyrrha was silent for a while, and Jaune began to worry he accidentally hurt her feelings. Her head was down, and she wouldn't meet his gaze. Slowly, he reached out his hand and put it on her shoulder.

"I'm really sorry, Py-"

He was cut off when she lunged herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Startled, Jaune quickly reacted, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her closer. He felt the wetness of her tears in the crook of his neck, and her body trembled as she tried to contain her crying. Rubbing her back slowly, Jaune was at a loss for words.

They sat like that for a while. Pyrrha's crying stopped, and it became very silent. The wind blowing through their hair brought an unpleasant chill, and voices from the grounds below rose to their ears, muffled and unintelligible.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"We could go back inside now, if you wanted. I'm sorry I made you feel obligated to come up here."

Shaking his head, Jaune let Pyrrha go and stood up. She looked up at him, her face conveying how tired she felt. Holding out his hand, she took it, and he helped her stand.

"Nah, I don't wanna go back down there. It was kinda boring. But… If you want, Pyrrha…"

He struggled to get his words out, embarrassment and nervousness coursing through him. She tilted her head silently, waiting for him to finish.

"We could dance. Up here. Just you and me. If you wanted. If you don't, that's cool, I just thought I'd ask, 'cuz-"

"There's no music," Pyrrha interjected quietly, looking around at the open sky above them.

Blushing, Jaune took her hand again and pulled her close to him. Placing his free hand on her waist, he leaned down and whispered in her ear,"When I'm with you, I don't need music to dance."

Pyrrha gasped quietly, startled as Jaune pulled them into some sort of waltz. Now that she was barefoot, she was a bit shorter than the blond, but not by too much. She was surprised at his boldness, and smiled at him, and he smiled back. Leaning her head against his shoulder, they circled around the roof, with beautiful music playing in their heads.

EPILOGUE

"I'm sooo tired!"

Teams RWBY and half of JNPR were seated at their customary breakfast table. Ruby had her head down on the table, the shadows under her eyes dark and prominent on her pale skin.

"We did stay up very late," Blake said in a monotone, but gave Yang a slight glare.

"Nora passed out after coming down from her sugar high at the dance, so we turned in early," Ren sighed, giving Nora a stern look that said 'you-better-eat-those-eggs-you-unhealthy-hooligan'. Nora frowned and huffed, but shoveled the eggs into her mouth, then proceeded to make gagging noises.

"I had a better time than I thought I would," Weiss proclaimed. "But I missed out on a lot of beauty sleep, no thanks to Yang!"

Yang sheepishly smiled, before shrugging and laughing,"We had a crazy night, but it was fun! I told you team bombshell would work, didn't I?"

"You didn't have to bring the boys to our dorm! You kept us all awake!" Weiss snapped.

Before a fight could break out, Ruby sat up and asked,"Where are Jaune and Pyrrha? After Jaune ran off last night, I didn't see him again."

Ren opened his mouth to explain the situation, but before he could speak, Jaune and Pyrrha entered the cafeteria. They looked tired, but happy, smiling and holding hands.

The teens at the lunch table gaped in shock. Blake smirked and muttered,"Finally, huh?"

Jaune and Pyrrha sat next to Ren, and Jaune sang,"Hey guys! How was your night?"

Smirking at Jaune's crazy "bed-head", Weiss replied venomously,"Probably not as 'eventful' as yours."

"Mine was," Yang announced, dreamily staring off into space.

"Don't remind me,"Ruby begged, covering her ears in horror.

Blushing, Pyrrha and Jaune averted their eyes from the table and an awkward silence befell the group. Attempting to lighten the mood, Ruby clapped her hands and said,"Well, this is great! Jaune and Pyrrha are together, Nora doesn't have diabetes, and Weiss and I are -"

"Not! Talking! About! It!" Weiss insisted in a panic.

"Why are you so embarrassed~?" Blake asked, narrowing her eyes as she teased her. "We all know you two are together now."

"Well, I'm sorry if I like certain aspects of my life to be private! Unlike YANG, for instance! We didn't need to know how many times you were -"

"Ok! Everyone calm down."

"No! I will not! I lost so much beauty sleep because your sister can't behave!"

"Well, the boys offered to let you guys join…"

"How DARE you insinuate -"

"Guysss let's talk about this another time, we're kind of in the middle of a crowded cafeteria, and -"

"I will not wait!"

"I'm just gonna leave…"

"This is ridiculous!"

"It's not like Blake and I ever said anything when YOU were caught -"

"Don't you DARE bring that up!"

And so, Teams RWBY and JNPR started their second food-fight of the year.

It wasn't pretty.


End file.
